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Ontario’s minimum wage jumps to $11 Sunday

Ontario’s minimum wage jumps to $11 Sunday, but not all workers happy.

Angel Reyes, who sorts trash for a Toronto recycling company, says his first raise in four years won't help him much, because his rent, food and transportation costs have gone up so much. (Sonia Singh photo)

Angel Reyes is getting his first raise in four years Sunday when Ontario’s minimum wage goes up by 75 cents to $11.

But he’s not feeling any richer.

“The cost of everything has gone up so much. My rent has increased, transportation has increased, food has increased. Even the cost of stamps at the post office,” said the 60-year-old temp agency worker who sorts trash for a Toronto recycling company.

“I’m going to cry. But nobody listens to us,” he added.

At $11, the minimum wage still leaves a full-time worker like Reyes living 16 per cent below the poverty line, said Deena Ladd of the
Workers’ Action Centre
, a non-profit workers’ collective.

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The centre, along with community and labour groups, has been part of a
year-long campaign
to raise Ontario’s previous $10.25 minimum wage to $14.

At that rate, someone working full time would earn about 10 per cent above Ontario’s poverty line of about $23,000 before taxes for a single person.

Advocates take credit for the
Liberal government’s decision in January
to boost the minimum wage to $11 on June 1. New legislation introduced in February, which died when the election was called, would have tied future increases to inflation.

On the hustings, Premier Kathleen Wynne has said the legislation would be reintroduced if she is re-elected

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath
has said she would increase it to $12 over two years and cut the corporate tax rate for small businesses from 4.5 per cent to 3 per cent to help them adjust. An NDP government would also tie future minimum wage increases to inflation.

Even though the minimum wage is going up, some workers say their employers are cutting benefits to compensate.

A Toronto-area Tim Hortons worker, who didn’t want her name or outlet location identified for fear of reprisals, said her employer posted a memo notifying staff he was ending breaks with pay to recoup costs.

“Given this new increase, as well as continued economic and competitive pressures, increasing commodity costs and minimal increases in menu pricing, effective June 1, we will be shifting all hourly team members in the restaurant to unpaid breaks,” the memo reads.

“We are not pleased we have to make this adjustment to the break policy and have held off making this change for several years,” it said.

A spokeswoman for Tim Hortons said these decisions are made at the franchise level by each individual Tim Hortons restaurant owner, consistent with provincial labour regulations.

Under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, employers are required to give workers a 30-minute unpaid meal break after five consecutive hours of work.

A spokeswoman for
Restaurants Canada
, which represents about 30,000 fast-food and full-service restaurants across the country,
had not heard
of restaurants ending breaks with pay to compensate for the minimum wage hike. But Joyce Reynolds said she was not surprised owners are making adjustments.

“The biggest impact we’ve heard is there will be a reduction in hours for part-time staff and hiring of older, experienced workers over first-time job applicants when vacancies arise,” said Joyce Reynolds. “We’ve also heard there will be less hiring of students this summer.”

Since Ontario is already trailing other Canadian provinces in food service sales, there is “considerable anxiety” among restaurant owners over a minimum-wage increase, Reynolds said.

“If sales are flat and labour costs go up considerably — and labour is such a huge part of the operating costs of a restaurant — they have to find a way to manage those costs,” she said.

Other wages increasing Sunday include the student minimum wage, which is rising by 70 cents to $10.30.

Minimum wages for liquor servers will go up by just 65 cents to $9.55.

Farm workers are excluded from all minimum wage provisions under the Employment Standards Act.

Correction - June 3, 2014:
This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Restaurant Canada spokeswoman, Joyce Reynolds was surprised to hear restaurant owners were cutting benefits in response to the minimum wage hike.

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